Google Maps: A Metaphor for the Here and Now Google

June 28, 2019

In a way, I have some sympathy for the GOOG. The company, allegedly an online search service, demonstrated the inherent irrelevance of its systems and methods. I read the allegedly true story “EasyAsk Drive 7-% More Revenue” which was the headline displayed over the CNN story about Google Maps directing more than 100 individuals to a muddy field. Yep, the ad covered up the story. That’s our here and now Google.

Sure, the story was amusing even if the title was obliterated in a quest to get me to license a product in which I have zero interest. According to the write up:

Technology isn’t always foolproof, as about 100 Colorado drivers learned when Google Maps offered them a supposedly quick way out of a traffic jam.

That’s a refreshing assessment of a really screwed up mess.

I learned:

The alternate route took drivers down a dirt road that rain had turned into a muddy mess, and cars started sliding around. Some vehicles couldn’t make it through the mud, and about 100 others became trapped behind them.

Google explained the problem this way:

“We take many factors into account when determining driving routes, including the size of the road and the directness of the route,” the company said in a statement. “While we always work to provide the best directions, issues can arise due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather. We encourage all drivers to follow local laws, stay attentive, and use their best judgment while driving.”

I love the royal we.

Let’s review the flaws this single incident and news story reveal:

Just bad information. Google Maps direct people to routes which are not passable
Sheep like humans. Humans depend on Google to do the thinking for them and end up with incorrect information
Talk down rhetoric. Google explains the problem with parent type talk.
Desperate advertisers. Marketers are paying to put their message in front of people indifferent to the annoyance a person like me experiences when an irrelevant ad covers up the headline of something that interests me.

The drivers are not the only ones stuck in the mud. Quite a mess.

Stephen E Arnold, June 28, 2019

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Google, Management, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.